Need a good configuration laptop within $800

sailorash

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
6
0
10,510
1. What is your budget?
Within $800 is all i can spend :(

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
15" preferably

3. What screen resolution do you want?
1920 X 1080 nd f nt 1366 X 768 will do

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Actually im a mariner so i travel on ship frequently so i wanna use it mainly when im onboard.

5. How much battery life do you need?
My ship's power supply is as good as at home or rather better since i get continuous power so battery shud nt be a problem

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Im a gr8 fan of football so i like playing fifa most f the time and also if im able to play some other good games even on medium settings will be nice.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
Nothing much except for watching videos, movies and doing my official work which only uses much of microsoft office tools

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
Atleast 750 Gb

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Not really

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
Probably for about 2 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
A decent DVD writer

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
As far as i heard from my friends i liked asus, hp and dell but im not sure about which s better than the others

13. What country do you live in?
India

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
Im plannin to buy it from abroad while i go sailing but cant say where i might but it since im unsure about the places i will visit.
 

potcha

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
3
0
10,510
Hey sailorash! I am in the same situation as you. I have spent the last month painstakingly researching laptops within the same budget as yours with a lot of the same needs; Something that is aesthetically pleasing, powerful for gaming, not too bulky, and a nice set of features.

The difference between our search is that I needed it to play battlefield 3, which to this day is still one of the most demanding if not THE most demanding game currently out. For playing fifa 12 (which I also currently play) or the upcoming 13, your options will be much more flexible. With that said here is what I landed on for myself

Acer Timeline Ultra m5 (in any of its various models, it comes in 14 and 15 inch which are nearly identical other than screen size)

I choose this for many reasons. First, and most importantly, is that it comes with the geforce gt 640m. This is a nice card that beats out all the other ultrabooks in its price class. This card is capable of running battlefield 3 on ultra for single player and high for multiplayer with very playable framerates. This means it should be able to give you maximum framerate in fifa and almost any other game that requires less performance than battlefield 3 (pretty much all of them). Couple that with the various i5's that come with the various models and you have some very nice performance for the price.

Second, is the SSD that it comes with. Yes it is only 20gb, but that is just enough to make this a nice hybrid. Capable of booting up at jaw dropping speeds (especially if you've never had a SSD before) and jump out of sleep mode in just a few seconds. It also will speed up some repetitive tasks you may use the PC for and will definitely make a difference.

Third is the aesthetics. It isn't quite as svelte and sexy as a macbook air, but this IS an ultrabook and even though it is on the heavier side of the ultrabook spectrum, it is still much lighter and thinner than most of the standard laptops of this screen size. Coupling that with the brushed aluminum found on the lid and chassis and you have a very nice looking laptop for its price class.

Fourth is the features. This laptop comes with a optical drive (with a dvd burner), something you don't often see in ultrabooks. It does come with a 1.3 megapixle webcam, which might be nice for your situation being in the military if you have some people back home that might be comforted by seeing your face in a nice video chat. It also comes with the standard bluetooth, card reader, hdmi etc.

The trade offs: Of course, a laptop in this price range simply can't have everything flawless, its just not going to happen. A couple of the things I don't like about these models is the screen, which is 1,366x768. Standard for this size screen but of course, like you, I would be much happier with the full 1080p 1920x1080. Also the (non ssd) hard drive is 5400 rpm. I would have much preferred 7200rpm but its not a deal breaker. The final minor complaint is that the useful slots (USB hdmi etc) are all in the back. This of course is minor and also not a deal breaker.

In conclusion, this is in my opinion, the best bang for your buck value within the budget you are looking at. It isn't perfect but it performs the tasks that you seem to be interested in exceptionally well and does so while looking good and staying small and light. :hello:

Good luck!

P.S. Here are a few of the more professional reviews out for it from some reputable publications

http://computershopper.com/laptops/reviews/acer-aspire-timeline-ultra-m5-481tg-6814

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407827,00.asp

http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/03/acer-aspire-timeline-ultra-m5-review-481tg-6814/

it also made pcworlds 'top 5 gaming laptops reviewed' http://www.pcworld.com/article/260274/top_five_gaming_laptops_reviewed.html

 

sailorash

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
6
0
10,510
hi potcha that was really a good find which i had not seen since i knew pretty much less about acer laptops and along with your cons i also noticed that we cannot remove the battery of the laptop. now im 80% satisfied with this one except where the hard disk capacity part comes in. coz i need atleast 750 GB of HDD since i do carry a lot of movies with me. but if at all there is even 1 machine slightly better than this it would be so nice. if nothing comes up then i will probably go with this 1.
 

sailorash

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
6
0
10,510
hi junky77 i was completely lost in that site but actually which brand is the 1 u told me about? and is there any reviews for it?? coz i want it work nicely for atleast 2 years and mainly while im on my ship since i cant even look for a repair shop while im sailing.
 

potcha

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
3
0
10,510
hey sail! My second choice for a laptop would have been the dell xps 15 z. This was my second choice and not my first simply because it is less graphically powerful and can only handle battlefield 3 on medium settings. That however, does not sound like it would be a deal breaker for you.

I have had experience with a older xps model that served me well for multiple years before I sold it to a coworker. It was a high quality build. Of course I cannot speak to this one but the reviews I have read on it have been solid.

It is also even more aesthetically pleasing than the acer in my opinion, looking very much like a macbook pro. It comes with a 1tb hard drive and the geforce gt 525m and a superior processor and most of the same features as the acer, albeit in a slightly larger package

Here is a link to one on ebay that is within your price range

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-XPS-15z-i7-2640-8GB-RAM-1-TB-HD-15-6-FHD-1080p-1GB-NVIDIA-Vid-Card-/261077604577?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item3cc97018e1

you can find several others in the same general range in both the dell xps 15 and 15z which are similar other than screen.

I wish there were more options I could give you but in that price range, but with the need for quality graphics, high hard drive capacity and good build quality within a lower end price range, the options are very limited. Hope it helps a bit. Good luck!



 

potcha

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
3
0
10,510
I don't have reviews for that one, but it's an MSI based laptop and probably have their basic barebones quality.

If you don't want to mess with it, you can take the Eurocom fox 4.0 with I7/I5, GT 650M GDDR5, 4GB DDR3 (you can add one stick yourself):
http://web.eurocom.com/EC/ec_model_config1(1,229,0)

problems: no OS.

or the dv6t-7000, I5-3210M, 8GB DDR3, 768p screen (the typical one) and OS:
http://www.gaminglaptopsjunky.com/hp-pavilion-dv6t-7000-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-i5-3210qm-nvidia-gt-650m-2gb-gddr5-fullhd-display-6gb-ddr3-memory-640gb-hdd-for-795/

problems: no FHD screen. But you can wait for a good coupon

Ooo thank you for these ideas. The eurocom has very good internals the 650m is a very very nice card. I only wish it was more aesthetically pleasing. Though what really matters is performance, and that laptop should perform very well.

As for the HP, I had looked at that myself but HP's reputation really worries me. They have notoriously terrible support and although this was taken in 2009, they were reporting a 25.6% failure rate across all their models over 3 years So it really is a crap shoot.
 

sailorash

Honorable
Aug 7, 2012
6
0
10,510
These
HP models are OK. People seem to remember their low budget models from 5
years ago. That's not the case.
This survey you talk about is not accurate and based on many unknown
variables.

Although, I'd stay away from the g6 laptops for now. The reviews are not
good.
The HP dv6 get good reviews. At least like other gaming machines of the
same level and price.

The Eurocom problems are that it has a 4GB memory and no OS if it
matters.

hi junky now that u gave me these options tel me which s d best 1 the force q 15 hd or the eurocom fox 4.0??